Aussie suburb where gun shots are normal

A fed-up resident in Sydney’s west has fired up at affluent Palm Beach locals who complained about a restaurant’s opening hours.

While NIMBYS in the more affluent parts of Sydney complain about rowdy pubs or restaurants, people in less glamorous areas are dealing with something completely different.

In the city’s working class west, there’s a suburb where residents start every day with the unmistakeable sound of gun shots ringing out just 100m or so away from their homes.

It’s coming from the Blacktown Pistol Club, an open air firing range which has been at its current spot near the border of Shanes Park and Shalvey for 60 years.

These sounds have melted into the usual background noise for many living in Shalvey, located about 50km from the CBD, but at least one man is beyond fed up.

John Kenny has called the suburb home for 46 years, and the whole time he’s been dumbfounded by the club’s location so close to a residential area.

What he finds particularly galling is that on some days the sounds “disturbing the peace” are coming from rounds fired by NSW Police officers.

“It’s on your mind all the time,” he said. “Because you’re living it every day of your life”.

The club is open to its members four days per week, including on weekends, according to its website.

On Mondays and Tuesdays, the facility is closed to members and reserved for NSW Police officers.

The club has been contacted for comment.

Most gun ranges in Sydney are nestled in isolated or industrial areas.

There are some located a similar distance to homes, however, with an indoor shooting range at St Marys – just 10 minutes’ drive from Shalvey – stationed across the road from houses.

On one side of the Blacktown Pistol Club (BPC) is an expanse of bushland and national park stretching several hectares, on the other is rows of houses and schools.

John Kenny has been documenting the club for years.

The road to the gun club.

As the crow flies, Mr Kenny’s house is less than 1km from the BPC – or three minutes by car.

He got in touch with news.com.au after reading about controversy surrounding The Joey restaurant at Palm Beach, where a few residents scuppered its plans to open for dinner due to noise concerns.

“I wonder what the people near the Joey would think of our situation,” Mr Kenny wrote.

When news.com.au visited his humble family home this month, bursts of gunfire could be clearly heard while standing in the backyard.

It was hardly deafening, but 72-year-old Mr Kenny provided recordings and videos of much louder sessions he has endured in recent months and years.

He accepts that the noise is being made during daylight hours, but thinks it is unreasonable and “an intrusion” to hear it every day.

The club’s distance from homes. Picture: Google Maps

NSW Police confirmed it had an arrangement for on-duty officers to use the range for training purposes.

A spokesman said the organisation had similar agreements with other shooting clubs in Sydney.

In a statement, a Blacktown Council spokesperson said the most recent noise complaints it had received about the club were in 2022.

The council said that the pistol club’s operation was also the responsibility of NSW Police under firearms regulation laws.

“The operation of the Blacktown Pistol Club is subject to a range of legislation, regulations and guidelines.

“Council requires from time to time that independent noise assessments be conducted to ensure the operation of the range falls within guidelines.”

Others living close to the gun range where more blase about its existence than Mr Kenny when news.com.au came knocking on their doors.

One mother said hearing gunshots was “not the worst problem” her family faced, saying she was more annoyed by hoons riding trail bikes behind her home.

“It took us about a year to accept that this is our new surroundings,” she said.

She said the line of police cars “from all over Sydney” waiting to enter the facility early of a morning was more of an issue than the shooting itself.

Another resident said the range “doesn’t bother us”, adding it would be no different to people living near an army base.

She said children in the street got a thrill when police cars put their lights on in reply to waving kids.

“Anyone who’s complaining needs to get a life,” she said.